The University of Aberdeen will hold this year’s Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) Charles Tennant Memorial Lecture tomorrow evening (Wednesday, October 10, 2001). Dr Byron Grote, Chief Executive, BP Chemicals, will deliver The Energy Industry of the 21st Century: Addressing the Challenges Ahead in the King’s College Conference Centre at 6.00pm.
The lecture will be introduced by Mr Thomas Swan, SCI World President and the Tennant Lecture Scroll will be presented by Dr Jennifer Mordue, SCI Scotland Chairman, and Reader, Zoology Department, University of Aberdeen. Also present will be Principal C Duncan Rice, University of Aberdeen, and Mr Richard Denyer, SCI General Secretary.
Dr Mordue explained the background to the lecture. “One of the most prestigious honours awarded by the SCI Scotland Section, the Charles Tennant Memorial Lecture recognises achievement in chemical research and knowledge. The lecture was endowed in 1943 to commemorate Charles Tennant (1768-1838), a pioneer industrialist chemist who patented various methods of making bleaches of importance for the textile industry. At one time, the Charles Tennant factory in Glasgow was the largest chemical works in the world.
“SCI Scotland was launched over a year ago and is delighted to be holding this year’s Tennant lecture on energy in the oil capital of the UK.”
Previous Tennant Lecturers have included Lord Alexander Flack, Alfred Rene Ubbelohde and most recently, Sir William Stewart.
Dr Grote joined Standard Oil (Ohio) in 1979, where he managed international oil supply and trading activities. In 1985, he became director of planning for Standard Oil’s mining subsidiary, Kennescott. In 1986, he was appointed vice president, retail sales, where he was responsible for managing the company’s US retail petrol operations. In 1986, he became commercial vice president for BP’s Alaskan North Slope production activities and the following year was appointed commercial general manager of BP Exploration, based in London. His responsibilities included strategy development for BP’s exploration and production business and divestment of non-core upstream assets.
He was named group treasurer and chief executive officer of BP Finance in 1992, directing the global finance operations of the BP group. In 1994, he became regional chief executive, based in Colombia, where he led BP’s exploration and production activities in Latin America. In 1995, he returned to London to become deputy chief executive officer of BP Exploration. He was named group chief of staff in 1997 with responsibility for a number of corporate areas including strategy, technology, information technology and BP Solar. Dr Grote was appointed an executive director of BP Amoco and chief executive of BP Chemicals in August 2000.
This lecture will have wide appeal to the industry. Anyone wishing to attend the lecture, or requiring further information, should contact Miss Pamela Strang, External Relations, University of Aberdeen, telephone: (01224) 272078, fax: (01224) 272271, or email: p.strang@abdn.ac.uk
For further information contact Angela Begg, Media Relations, on (01224) 272960.
Issued by Public Relations Office, External Relations, University of Aberdeen, King's College, Aberdeen. Tel: (01224) 272014 Fax: (01224) 272086.
University Press Office on telephone +44 (0)1224-273778 or email a.ramsay@admin.abdn.ac.uk.